Instant Pot Chana Dal

Chana Dal is an easy Indian recipe prepared with chana dal lentils (also known as split chickpeas or Bengal gram), assorted spices cooked in an Instant pot pressure cooker, or a traditional Indian pressure cooker for under 30 minutes. It's Vegan, Gluten-free.

What is Dal?

Dal, also called Daal, Dhal, or Dahl, are basically dried pulses that can be whole or split.

Chana dal (also known as split chickpeas or Bengal gram) is a very popular and healthy legume frequently cooked in almost every Indian household. This is because Chana dal has a great source of plant protein, iron, folate, fiber, is gluten-free, and is diabetic-friendly since it has a low glycemic index of around 8.

Try my other Chana dal recipes like lauki chana dal and chana dal payasam from my blog.

Today, we are making an easy North Indian Style Chana Dal with an extra ghee tadka which adds all the magic and gets ready under 30 minutes, and is perfect for weekday meals.

You can follow the same chana dal fry recipe with Red lentils (also known as Masoor Dal). I have shared both Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and Traditional Stovetop recipe below.

Chana Dal Ingredients

• Chana Dal: Soak chana dal for at least 15-20 minutes to 2 hours to reduce the cooking time.
• Green chilies: I have used two green Thai chilies.
• Ginger: I have used minced ginger and garlic.
• Onion: I have used finely chopped onions. You can prefer to skip it if you are making chana dal recipe without onion and garlic.
• Tomatoes: I have used Roma tomatoes.
• Oil: Use any cooking oil.
• Dry spices: I have used cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder. You can increase or decrease the spices according to your choice.
• Lime Juice: use freshly squeezed lime juice.
• Coriander leaves: I have used coriander leaves for garnish.

How to Make Chana Dal in Instant Pot

Soak the chana dal in hot water for 15-20 minutes.

Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot, add cumin seeds. Let them crackle.

Add minced ginger garlic, green chili, and onions. Saute till onions turn light brown.

Next, add tomatoes, dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, salt, and cook till tomatoes turn soft, which takes 2-3 minutes.

Then add soaked lentils, water and give a stir. Adjust spices at this stage. Also, deglaze the pot, i.e., make sure there is no food particle sticking to the pot to avoid burn alerts.

Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes.

Once the pot beeps, let it release the pressure naturally (NPR) for 10 minutes.

Lastly, squeeze some lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro). Mix well. Add ½ cup of water to adjust the dal consistency if required.

Instant Pot Chana Dal curry, also known as Bengal gram dal or split chickpeas lentils, is ready. You can also add extra tempering (tadka) and serve hot with steamed rice, quinoa, or roti.

Note on the consistency:

If one wants soft mashed dal, 14-15 minutes manual/pressure cook (High Pressure) is probably the ideal setting in manual mode.

But I like lentils to be a little firm, so I usually cook for 12 minutes Manual/Pressure Cook (High Pressure).

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method

Follow the same steps from the instant pot instructions. Give 3-4 whistles on medium flame and let the pressure release naturally. All the other steps remain the same.

Stovetop Pot Method

Just soak the chana dal for 3-4 hours and then boil it in a pot for 25-30 minutes or until soft. After the lentils are cooked, follow the step-by-step process of preparing the tempering and saute onion-tomato-ginger-garlic paste and then assembling the dal. 

Serving Suggestions

Serve Chana Dal Fry with roti, chapati, jeera rice, or basmati rice. I like eating it with steamed rice or serving it as a Split Chickpeas Soup.

FAQs

Tips & Variations

1. Don’t skip out on soaking the chana dal for at least 15-20 minutes – Chana dal takes a longer time to cook. Soaking softens the lentils and cooks faster.
2. If dal has more liquid, then you can boil it for few minutes and vaporize the water.
3. You can also add bottle gourd, zucchini, or pumpkin to this dal.
4. For a variation, you can also make this dal by skipping onion, ginger, and tomatoes.
5. Vegan Variation: Skip ghee and use the oil of your choice.

More Lentils/Bean Recipes

• Dal Tadka - Dal cooked with toor dal (yellow lentils).
• Green Lentil Soup – lentil soup made with green lentils, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and Indian spices.
• Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves.
• Whole green moong dal– Dal cooked with whole mung beans.
• Panchmel dal – dal prepared with five varieties of lentils.
• Spinach Dal / Palak Dal – Dhal cooked with spinach leaves.
• Raw Mango Dal – Dal cooked with Raw Mango.

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